Fittler was referring to the decision from Australian selectors Mal Meninga, Darren Lockyer and Laurie Daley to name Queensland fullback Billy Slater the player-of-the-series.

Loading

Meninga, Lockyer and Daley are three of the game’s finest men. Smartest, too. Questions about their integrity are odious.

But the 4-3-2-1 points system that delivered Slater the award needs to be dumped. Surely, three men with that much football knowledge could have a brief discussion towards the end of the game and make the common-sense call.

The common-sense call was not Billy Slater, who was ruled out of the first game through injury; who was great in a losing side in the second; who was the second-best player behind Daly Cherry-Evans in the third.

In the big scheme of life and rugby league and a group of young Thai soccer players climbing out of a flooded cave, a player-of-the-series award doesn't really mean much.

But it's typical of rugby league: a silly subplot that overshadows a classic Origin.

Indeed, as sponsors, family and even some members of the media grabbed the chance to be photographed with the shield, many NSW players and coaching staff were seething about Slater's award.

Immortal Andrew Johns was one of them. Initially, he didn’t want to comment — but then called me back.

“Quote me on this: how Boyd Cordner or Tom Trbojevic did not get man of the series is beyond me,” the former NSW halfback said. “Maybe I was watching a different game. Tom didn’t make an error all series. He ran for 250 metres tonight, he does the tough stuff, the flash stuff, and him and his brother Jake after the game were burning. They were filthy because they lost. Jake was near in tears.”

The general feeling in the room was either Tom Trbojevic or fullback James Tedesco were the best players of the series.

It’s hard to argue. The pair were vying for the fullback position in the lead-up to the series with Tedesco retaining the No.1 jumper while Trbojevic was pushed out to the unfamiliar position on the wing.

“Tedesco,” said Jack de Belin when asked who had been NSW's best. “Teddy,” said Tyson Frizell. “Tommy T, for sure,” said James Roberts, who had a bloody gash above his left eye after a first-half head clash with Tommy T.

Shining light: Tom Trbojevic was a standout for New South Wales.Credit:AAP

“Tommy made some hard carries, which was awesome,” said Jake Trbojevic. “I’m very proud of him. He surprised everyone with that sort of stuff.”

That “tough stuff” from each of Fittler’s players highlighted the ethos he’s built in a short space of time. Their defence won them the series, and almost won them game three.

But the Blues' attack is a long way off completion and Fittler knows it.

"We’re a good team but we need to get better,” Fittler said. “You can’t always win on your defence. Sometimes you have to jag a game by scoring 30 points. We don’t look like that at the moment.”

The Blues have their own accolade for the player of the series. The Brad Fittler medal will be awarded later in the year.

Ground for concern

The ATC’s shock announcement that it was looking to plonk an AFL ground right in the middle of Royal Randwick raised immediate concern with many punters.

Loading

I mean, many of us just want an interrupted view of our horse getting trapped three wide before falling away down the straight to finish dead last. We don’t need four posts blocking our view.

Hold your, er, horses says the ATC. Preliminary plans suggest the posts won’t obstruct any view from neither ground level in GA or up in the fancy suites in the grandstand.

The partnership with both the Sydney Swans and GWS Giants is rather prudent, although the immediate thought for many was that the most powerful figure in racing — NSW Racing boss Peter V’Landys — is also on the ARL Commission.

Apparently, PVL is OK with it.

As this column understands it, though, there's a lot of red tape to be cut before we see any AFL woodwork in the middle of Randwick.

No Moore events

We told you last week that promoter Jason Moore was rumoured to have lost $500,000 on the Denver Test between New Zealand and England, throwing the future of the fixture into doubt despite some bleating on about it being the saviour of international footy.

We can now tell you that another Moore promotion, the Air + Style event in the Domain that was going to be headlined by snowboard legend Shaun White has been cancelled with Moore Snow Sports Pty Ltd placed into liquidation on July 3.

"We had partnered with a company that we believed shared our vision and values, but ultimately they did not,” Air + Style organisers posted on their Facebook page. “Unfortunately, this left us in difficult situation, which resulted in a forced cancellation of the weekend.”

People who bought tickets are furious because they are struggling to get a refund.

Moore did not respond to requests for comment, just like last week.

Young guns sign here

Do you think your young’un could be the next Benji Marshall? The next Sally Fitzgibbon? The next Tim Cahill or Michael Hooper or — better still — Mark “Piggy” Riddell?

This year, the Wests Tigers are teaming with Five Dock training studio Coaching Zone, which is the brainchild of former Kiwi international Bronson Harrison and two of the city’s most respected personal trainers, Todd Liubinskas and Shane McLeod.

Coaching Zone is a specialised group personal training program combining training and coaching. The trio have in the past year worked with the Wallabies, Aussie women's sevens team, Fittler's Lebanese World Cup team and the New Zealand rugby league team.

The idea for a combine in conjunction with the Tigers originates from the NFL Combine held for potential recruits at which executives, coaches, scouts and doctors from all 32 teams conduct an intense, four-day job interview in advance of the draft.

The Tigers’ version of the combine will for the first time see an NRL club give junior league participants a chance to test themselves against their footy heroes.

They will then be able to practice these skills and be provided with an on-going program where they can continue to log their scores and compare them with the Wests Tigers players and their peers.

The Tigers and Coaching Zone will run at least four of these junior combines, aiming for 100 participants at each and is aimed at children aged from five to 14.

THE QUOTE

Let down: England fans fell short in their semi-final.Credit:Matt Dunham

“ENGLAND GETS A SEMI”. - So screamed the front page of British tabloid The Daily Star after England’s World Cup win over Sweden. Then Croatia beat them in the semi-final and an entire nation turned over and said, “Not tonight, honey. I’ve got a headache.”

THUMBS UP

Forget about the Billy Slater man-of-the-series controversy for a moment: Origin III was a belter and a ripper and, basically, very good. As dear friend Vina Thompson, who is heavily pregnant, texted with about 10 minutes remaining: “This game will see me go into early labour”. (She didn't).

THUMBS DOWN

“I’m offering $300 to anyone who destroys this mural and shares a video. The mural is located at 444 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA, 90291. #Lakers #Kobe #Lebron”. It requires a special brand of wanker to post this on social media. Of course, some tool defaced the mural of LeBron - who has signed with the Lakers - and the artist has had to paint over it. #wanker #tool

It’s a big weekend for …

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who meet in the Wimbeldon semi-finals and now, with Roger Federer out of the draw, you’d think the winner will be crowned men’s champion. There’s a kiss of death, right there.

Head scratcher: Roger Federer became a surprise victim of the Wimbledon semi-finals.Credit:AP

It’s an even bigger weekend for …

Legendary broadcaster Martin Tyler, who has been calling the World Cup for SBS with typical brilliance. We could listen to him read the phone book all day. The final between France and Croatia on Monday morning will have to do.